One night my entire (Japanese/Chinese) family went out to eat at L & L’s.
After all 7 of us lined up to place our order (since as we all know…daddy always pays no matter how old the kids get), my (haole) husband was the last one up. However, before he could even say a word, the young cashier turned to my father with a confused look on her face and asked, “Is he with you?!”
And here’s a few more, if you don’t use any, I won’t be hurt! Edit away as needed!
-For me, the first moment I knew I was with someone who was very culturally different was when my husband (though only my boyfriend at the time) came from LA to visit me for the first time in Hawaii. We were standing in line at Safeway and the clerk kept making mistakes. She was slow, rang up the wrong price, kept talking to her friend….the straw that broke the camel’s back was when she declared that she needed to change the register tape but didn’t know how. That did it. My husband rolled his eyes and deeply exhaled. I froze. I spent the next 60 seconds trying to undo the damage by shooting winning patient smiles at the clerk.
-Everytime we take a family photo there’s about 15 short Asians and one white person- my husband. We’ve made a joke out of humming that song from Sesame Street “Which of things is not like the others?” while we’re smiling for the camera. It always cracks everyone up.
-You know you’ve won your haole husband over when he starts muttering and grumbling about all the other “haoles” to you!
Sincerely,
Jolene
